The Guy Behind The Mask
by task0778
Summary: A one-shotter with a reveal. Not sure if I should add to this later. Decided to add some chapters. No idea where this story will end up.
1. Chapter 1

It's been a week since the Miracle Queen episode (season 3 finale), and Ladybug is now the Guardian of the Miraculouses. It's been a quiet week, and this is the 1st meeting for Ladybug and Chat Noir since then.

After the greetings, Chat begins a conversation. "LB, have you considered whether or not I should reveal my secret identity to you? I have some thoughts about that if you're interested."

"Tell me what you're thinking," she replies.

"Well, I think you don't need to be wondering where I am if and when you need me and I can't make it for some reason. Like I've had an accident or seriously ill or something. Out of town, even. You need to already know if I am going to be unavailable for some reason before something urgent pops up. So you can have a contingency plan ready to implement."

He continues, "in my case, I'm not too worried if Hawkmoth finds out who I am, security around my house is very tight, and I have a bodyguard driving me around. There's just me and my dad, and that's it. I don't know who you are under the mask, so I couldn't reveal anything if I got captured anyway."

Ladybug thinks about it, then says, "you make some good points. But I don't know how I could live with myself if you got kidnapped or something worse." She looks at him and asks, is there something you're not telling me?"

"There's a lot I'm not telling you because of the secret identity thing. To be honest, it would ease my mind if you knew who I was, and also sometimes I need a sounding board to bounce my thoughts off of, without worrying about what I say that I shouldn't. Personal stuff as well as business."

He stops and reconsiders. "Not that I want to add to your burdens, but maybe I could also be a help sharing your responsibilities in real-time rather than waiting until we meet again."

She puts a hand on his shoulder. "You'll never be a burden to me, Chaton. Sometimes it is hard not having someone to share the problems that come along with doing what we're doing, like trying to transform without anyone seeing."

And he replies, "yeah, but I'm not asking you to reveal your identity, I can wait until you're ready to do that if ever. I do think you ought to give me a sealed envelope with that information in it, should you be gone for more than a week or whatever and nobody knows where or why. Plus, I think you should train me or someone else to do what you do to de-evilize an akuma. Somebody's gotta do it if you're not around."

Ladybug agrees. "That's true. We might need to talk to each other right away, I kinda like that. Alright, I'm sold. If you don't mind, I'm going to keep my identity a secret, at least for now until I'm ready and it makes better sense at some point. So, who are you under the mask?"

Chat Noir says, "I'm okay with that," and transforms into his civilian self. Ladybug's eyes get big as she recognizes who he is.

"ADRIEN?! I can't believe it's you!"


	2. Chapter 2

Adrien and Kagami

Adrien and Kagami are sitting together in the park, watching the kids playing and the dogs barking. She leans over to cuddle with him and tried to kiss him but he shifts away.

She looks at him and asks, "Why do you do that? I thought you liked me."

Adrien: "I'm sorry, I do like you, a lot. But I can't commit to being more than friends, good friends for sure but I can't lead you on to believe it's more than that."

Kagami: "It's Marinette, isn't it? You're in love with her, it's so obvious."

Adrien: "No, it's Ladybug, I've been in love with her ever since she first appeared. Everybody knows Ladybug, how great she is. I bet half the guys in Paris have a crush on her, and I'm not the kind of guy who loves one person and plays with another's feelings."

He looks at her for a moment and continues, "I thought maybe I could move on from her, but I'm not there yet and I don't know when I ever will be. But I have to be honest with you about it."

Kagami looks at him searchingly. "What about Marinette, I saw the way you looked at her that day at the ice rink. Like a boyfriend looks at the girl he deeply cares about."

Adrien frowns. "But all I ever got from her is the impression that we were just friends. And I still have this thing for Ladybug, I can't go around pretending to be in love with someone else. And besides, she's going with Luka now anyway."

Kagami: "But you started something with me, right?"

Adrien: "Yeah, but I never meant for things to get this far this fast. We have so much in common, maybe I fooled myself into thinking I could move on from Ladybug, you're pretty hot you know and any guy would be very lucky to have you for a girlfriend. And it could be that I'm a total idiot."

Kagami smiles. "Well, yeah, there's that possibility." They laugh together, and after a moment she continues, "I really think Marinette likes you more than a friend, you know? Maybe she was afraid of getting rejected."

Adrien looks at her and says, "I'm being dumped, aren't I?"

Kagami looks back at him and says, "No, but I don't want to play 2nd or 3rd fiddle to another girl, even if it's Ladybug. You're a great guy, but I want somebody who is in love with me and not someone else."

Adrien looks away and says, "Can't blame you for that. You deserve so much better, and I know you'll find that person." He looks back at her and says, "I don't know how this is supposed to work, are we still going to be friends?"

And she replies, "Yeah, I think so. You're a dork but you're a nice dork."

He admits it. "Yeah, that's true. Biggest dork in Paris."

They laugh and separate. "See you at fencing practice?"

"Yup. I'm gonna kick your ass."

"We'll see about that. I gotta go. Bye."

"Bye."


	3. Chapter 3

Depressed Chat Noir tells Ladybug

A day later, Ladybug and Chat Noir meet and he is feeling depressed about his recent breakup with Kagami. Ladybug notices Chat's usual banter is missing and asks him if he's okay.

"Not really, LB. I'm fine physically, but I think I hurt someone's feeling's today, someone that doesn't deserve to be hurt. I feel awful about it."

She says with a smile, "so, what did you do this time?"

He looks out at the city below them, then looks down and says, "there's this girl I know, her name is Kagami, that I was friends with. We were getting along fine until I realized it was something more than friendship for her and I had to tell her I didn't feel that way about her."

He pauses, then looks at Ladybug. "I'm not the kind of guy that leads a girl on if I can't return her feelings. It's not honest and I can't do it. So, I told her I was in love with someone else. She wanted to know who, so I said it was you. Afterwards I started thinking that wasn't very fair to you, but I'm not good at prevaracating and I'm really sorry. I just didn't know what to say. Sometimes I feel like I'm the biggest dork in Paris."

She looks away and says, "That's alright, It's tough when somebody likes you a lot more than you like them. You just can't order your heart to love this person instead of that one."

He nods his head and says, "That's the way it is Bugaboo, no matter how hard you try, you can't tell your heart who to love. Sometimes life throws a few curveballs at you and you have to deal with whatever comes." He smiles at her, and says, "for what it's worth, I think I'm a better person for knowing you and being in this situation."

She leans into him and says, "Thanks Chaton, that's a nice thing to say and I appreciate it. You're the best partner I could ever have."

He laughs a little and says, "True, and yet so humble." And she laughs too.

Chat Noir: "Funny thing, she told me that she thinks I'm really in love with a girl named Marinette, rather than you. All this time, I thought Marinette and I were just friends. But looking back, I think my feelings for her were stonger than being 'just friends'. But she's got another guy now, so I totally missed the boat there."

He sighs. "I really did like her." He looks at Ladybug and says, "I told her she was our Everyday Ladybug, because she tries to help anyone who needs help. She's like the kind of person I think you are under that mask."

A quiet Ladybug looks at him and asks, "do you regret being Chat Noir and working with me? There's a personal price to pay, isn't there?"

"No, I don't regret anything. Sometimes you have to put others ahead of self, like we do all the time fighting Hawkmoth and his akumas. It's not easy and it's scary sometimes, but somebody's got to do it. Hopefully someday I can find a girl that loves me for who I am and we can get married and start a family and live a normal life, without the threat of a supervillain terrorizing all of Paris."

He pauses, then continues. "There is a price to pay, personally. You can't be totally honest with the people you care about, for fear of putting them in danger and that's not easy. I'd like to have been able to tell Kagami or Marinette about me being Chat Noir, but doing that makes them a target if the word got out. And I couldn't do that, so maybe I lost both of them."

She looks at him and asks, "what would you have done if you weren't Chat Noir?"

He replies, "I woulda tried to get Marinette to be my girlfriend, if she would've been willing. Which according to some people she was, for awhile. Maybe it would have worked, maybe not but she's a pretty special person." He considers, then adds, "I shoulda told her that, but frankly I always thought a guy is not supposed to be a two-timer, you know? I wonder what would've happened if I had told her the girl I was in love with is Ladybug."

He looks at her and asks how her love life is going. "Okay, I guess. I recently moved on from my old crush to a new guy. He's really nice."

"He better be. Just say the name and I'll make a scratching post out of him."

She laughs. "No, he's a good guy, caring and considerate. Besides, I can take care of myself, you know."

Chat: "Well, that's certainly true. I really hope it works out for you and you're always happy. You really deserve it."

Ladybug gives him a hug. "So do you. I'm sure you'll find your forever love sooner or later. You're too good for any girl to pass up."

He laughs a little again and says, "True, and yet so humble." And she laughs too.

He gets up. "It's time to go, before I'm missed. And I could use the sleep."

She does too. "Yeah, me too. See you later," and off she goes.


	4. Chapter 4

Marinette and Tikki

Later, Marinette talks to Tikki. "I still can't believe Chat Noir is Adrien! How could I miss something so obvious? I'm such an idiot! He was right in front of me the whole time and I didn't see it!"

She turns to Tikki and says, "and you knew it too, didn't you? I wish you had told me, we might have avoided some serious heartache!"

Tikki somberly answers, "we are forbidden to interfere with your lives. We cannot break the rules, no matter how hard it is to stand by and watch our Chosen be hurt. It is the law."

"It's a pretty sorry law then," replies Marinette. "So, Adrien has been in love with Ladybug me, and the Marinette me, right? And I was too chicken to say anything."

Tikki says, "I think Adrien was so hooked on Ladybug that he couldn't see being in love with anyone else. He evidently has strong ethics about loving more than one girl at a time, which may mean that he's quite conflicted. He might not be allowing himself to even consider falling in love with another person besides Ladybug."

"Yeah, I see that." Marinette considers the situation. "I think I need some time to process this and figure out what I want to do. And there's Luka to consider, he's so sweet and I don't want to hurt him."

"Follow your heart, Marinette. You shouldn't deceive him or anyone else about your true feelings, once you figure out what they are. You're not really a deceptive person, and Luka is going to realize sooner or later that you're not in love with him if that is the case."

Marinette: "I'm not sure anymore what I feel, he's a great guy but with everything going on, I feel like I'm in a total flux of emotions and events all swirling together. I don't know what to think. Or feel."

Tikki: "Then it's not the right time to make any decisions, is it? Take your time, and let your heart decide."

"That's true, he's pretty perceptive and I'm not going to pretend to have feelings that aren't there. I think maybe I needed a friend right now to just hang out with, rather than a real boyfriend. A shoulder to cry on, so to speak. I hope he understands."

"I think he will, people date for a while and sometimes it works out to be something more permanent and sometimes it doesn't. I'm sure he knows that." This from Tikki.

"There's no getting around it, is there? You love someone or you don't, although I suppose that could change after awhile, one way or the other." Marinette pauses, thinking about the situation. "It bothers me a little to hear Adrien telling me personal stuff about his love life that maybe he wouldn't if he knew I am Marinette. "

Tikki: "It may feel awkward sometimes, but you need to know if he's distracted about something or anyone else on your team is before you go into a fight with them at your side."

Marinette: "I get that, but it still doesn't feel right. It's like I'm not being honest with him, withholding information that may or may not influence how he feels about me." She turns to look at Tikki and says, "I'm thinking about revealing my identity to him so maybe this weird circle can be resolved."

Tikki: "That's up to you, I can't help you there. But it's worth considering if it takes a load off your mind. Now that you're the Guardian, you've got an awful lot of things on your plate."

Marinette: "That is so true. I'm so lucky to have you, Tikki." They hug. "I have some homework to do, and then bed. We'll continue this tomorrow."

Tikki flies up to Marinette and kisses her on the cheek. "Don't stay up too late."

"I won't. Promise."


	5. Chapter 5

Chat Noir and Ladybug talk

A few days later, Chat Noir and Ladybug meet before going out on patrol. He has been thinking about how to manage the responsibilities of being the Guardian and the leader of the superheroes.

"We need to talk, LB," he says. "With this many Miraculous holders and maybe more to come, we might need to talk about communication so you know who is available and who isn't. And maybe some training time, people are going to need some time to learn about their kwami and what they can do and can't. And then some time to practice what they can do to be as good as they can be when they're thrown into the fire so to speak."

"And then there are the rules about secret identity and why it's so important, and that misusing your Miraculous for personal reasons is unacceptable. I was thinking of creating a website somewhere that is password-protected for you to post whatever information you feel is necessary and telling everybody to read it. Plus a private message capability that anyone can send to anyone else as needed, and maybe even a chat room if anyone in the group wants to talk about something. What do you think?"

Ladybug: "That all sounds great, Chat. I'll take all the help I can get. I'm so scared of messing up like I did leading Hawkmoth to Master Fu. I feel so overwhelmed, with all this responsibility on top of my civilian life. And the really scary part is that I can't quit, because if I do then I lose all my Miraculous memories, including you maybe. Remember, Master Fu didn't know who we were when he renouncd his Guardianship." She turns to him. "I do not want that to happen, Chat."

Chat Noir: "I don't either, m'lady. We're just going to have to trust in our people and delegate what we can to them. But it could be that I need to know who they are as civilians if you are incommunicado. And somebody else has to know how to de-evilize an Akuma and restore everything to the way it was." He shudders. "I cannot even consider the possibility that you might not be with me, leading the way and coming up with a plan. Right now, you're indispensable, and as much as you don't like it, I have to protect you."

Ladybug looks him straight in the eye and says with a raised voice, "this is an order, you will not sacrifice yourself for me, is that clear?"

"Absolutely."

"Are you going to do as I say?" Louder.

"Absolutely."

"Are you lying to me?" Louder still.

"Absolutely".

She explodes. "God Dammit, Chat! I just can't lose you, you dumb cat! I love you, and I don't know how I could live without you!"

They stare at each other in stunned silence.

"Did you mean that?" asks Chat.

"I'm not certain, but I think so," replies Ladybug. She looks at him and says, "I didn't intend to say that and I think I need some time to sort things out, is that okay?"

"Sure, I can wait, take as long as you need. No rush." He looks at her and asks, "is it okay to get started on the website?"

Ladybug smiles at him and says, "yeah, that's a good idea, thanks Chat. I need to think some things over, it might be a little while before I'm ready to go."

"Well, let's hope Hawkmoth cooperates and gives us some time to get organized."

"That would be nice. I think I'll head for home if you don't mind. I'll be in touch." And with that, she's gone.

"Well Plagg, that was interesting," says Chat to his kwami. "I didn't see that coming."

"Me neither. You still want to patrol around town?"

"Yeah, let's kick it. A little exercise might be a good idea." And off they go, trying to do their part in keeping the people of Paris safe.


	6. Chapter 6

Later that evening, Marinette talks to Tikki about what just happened.

"I didn't mean to say that, it just kind of popped out without thinking. I get so worried about him getting hurt or even killed, and I couldn't stand that. He's my rock, outside of my parents he's the one I depend on most. The thought that I might lose him is really hard to deal with."

Tiki replies, "Throughout history, it's always been that way between Ladybug and Chat Noir. Sometimes the genders are reversed, but the risks and the worry are always there. So far, no one has died in this battle against Hawkmoth, but he seems to be getting stronger so to speak, and maybe more desperate. I'm not saying that to upset you, but you have to face the realities, one of which is that you could lose him. Or he could lose you."

Marinette frowns. "So, I gotta suck it up, is that what you're saying? What if I take his Miraculous to keep him safe?"

Tikki quickly responds, "And in so doing leave your team weaker and increase the chances that someone else gets hurt instead and Hawkmoth wins. Plus, I'm not sure that Adrien would ever forgive you for that."

"You're probably right, that stupid dork. He'll probably come up with some crack-brained idea and get himself in so much trouble that even I couldn't get him out of. This way, at least I can keep an eye on him." Marinette looks at Tikki. "Boys are a royal pain in the butt."

Tikki offers some thoughts. "No doubt. There are other things to consider, starting with defensive strategies to reduce the odds of injury or worse. And numbers, It might be helpful if the akumatized victims have several targets, all moving around. That lessens the chances for any of you getting hurt. And finally, once you determine the nature of the threat, maybe you can find something in the way of a shield to block whatever is coming at you."

Tikki continues, "you in particular need to train somebody, maybe a couple of people to de-evilize an Akuma and reverse all the damage. You can't be an indispensable member of the team; Chat Noir has to protect you at all costs for that reason, and he knows it. Although to be honest, he'll probably do it anyway because he loves you and will sacrifice himself to save you. Which he has already done a number of times."

Marinette: "Those are all good ideas, wait'll I spring them on Chat. I'll give you the credit of course."

Tikki snorts, "as if I care. Now, about all those boys you're in love with, is it two, or three, I forget."

"Tikki!"

"Or do you have another one already that I don't know about? That's 4!"

"Tikki!" A blushing Marinette throws a small pillow at Tikki, who easily dodges it. "You just hush! I have enough troubles without that!"

Tikki: "Your aim is a little off, Ladybug, maybe you need a little remedial training. How about a training session with Chat where you throw stuff at him?"

Marinette pauses in mid-throw of another pillow. "That's not a bad idea, I kinda like it." They both giggle. "5 points if I hit him, 10 if I knock him down."

Marinette is laughing hard now. "I love it. Let's do it!"

Adrien talks to Plagg

Adrien: "Funny thing, Plagg. All this time I've been aggressively chasing after her, and now I'm thinking it might be better to be patient and let her work her feelings out without my interference. She seems kinda stressed out and probably needs some time to unwind. What do you think?"

Plagg: "Sounds smart to me, she doesn't need to be pushed into anything right now, and you don't want to push her into doing something without due consideration, right? If she still wants the other guy, well at least you gave her the choice to make. And if it goes against you, well then you can maybe finally move on to someone else."

Adrien: "Yeah, I like that thinking. And truth be told, there's a more important goal here that should override my personal feelings: we have to defeat Hawkmoth no matter what it costs me. It's not easy, but that's the way it has to be."

Plagg: "It makes me proud to be your kwami when you say that. And hungry too, where's the Camembert?"

A laughing Adrien replies, "here you go," as he gets a hunk of cheese. "She might want to put off any personal decisions like this for a while, maybe a long time because she's got a lot of things to deal with as the new Guardian."

He thinks for a few minutes, then asks, "would it benefit her to talk to all of the Miraculouses for advice and opinions? And she probably needs to be familiar with what each one can and can't do. Are there some pairs of Miraculouses that work together better than with another one?"

"Well, for sure she needs to be fully aware of what each of us can offer," replies Plagg, with his mouth full of Camembert. "Some are more defensive in nature, while others are more offensive. She needs to know which is which. And I believe that most Miraculouses were created in pairs, to offset each other and provide balance."

Adrien: "So it could be beneficial to pair up the right Miraculouses?"

Plagg: "Yes. Each is stronger when together than separated. Like Tikki and me."

Adrien: "There is so much to learn, and maybe not a lot of time to learn it. One more question, can any of the Miraculouses make the Miraculous box invisible to human eyes? I am concerned about the possibilities that the box could be stolen if anyone figures out who Ladybug is, and if she has it where she lives. We can't afford to lose that."

Plagg: "That's true. Master Fu had the box cleverly disguised, but I'm not sure the same is true for Ladybug. I'll have to talk to Tikki about this."

Adrien: "Ok. Maybe we can convene a meeting with just the 4 of us, you and me, and Ladybug and Tikki, and see what can be done to protect the box and maybe each other."

Plagg: "Okay. Let's do it."

Adrien pauses for a few minutes, thinking. Then he looks at Plagg and says, "When Master Fu relinquished the Guardianship of the Miraculous Box and appointed Ladybug as the new Guardian, he didn't tell her the part about losing your Miraculous memories. She didn't find out until after it was done. Doesn't seem honest or fair to me, and she wasn't really trained to be a Guardian. So I'm wondering if and when she does give up her role as the Guardian if the same thing will happen to her." He looks down. "Will she forget about me, about us? That isn't going to be easy for me to live with."

Plagg considers, and replies, "I can't say. Master Fu was the last of the Guardians from the monastery, he was the only one to escape the destruction. And the last one to receive the training to be a Guardian, so I don't know if the rules change when the Guardianship is forced on an untrained person."

Adrien asks, "can the new Guardian appoint someone to assist, and maybe be a 2nd or 3rd Guardian? What if she becomes incapacitated or God forbid killed, with no other Guardian around? What then?"

"I'll have to talk to Tikki and Wayzz about that." Plagg frowns and continues, "there is a Book of Spells that should be with the Miraculous Box that might tell you something. We kwamis can't read it for whatever reason, but maybe you and Ladybug can."

Adrien: "I didn't see any book with the Box, but I'm thinking this isn't the time to add something else for Ladybug to concern herself with. Maybe once we get better organized, we can discuss it." He yawns and says, "I'm tired, let's get some rest. We can talk more about this stuff tomorrow."

Plagg: "Good idea. Good night, Adrien."

Adrien: "Good night, Plagg."


	7. Chapter 7

Marinette and Luka, a few days later

Marinette and Luka are walking home to her residence after a date, when she sees a large poster of Adrien. She stops and looks at it, and Luka looks at her and gently asks her if she's still in love with him.

"I think you've still got some strong feelings for him, Marinette. Feelings that you don't have for me, and I understand that. The heart wants what the heart wants, and there's not much that your brain can do about it."

Marinette turns to him with sorrow in her eyes, and says, "I'm sorry, Luka. I've been trying to get over him, but it isn't working. Not yet, anyway. You're such a great guy, and you deserve better than this."

To which he smiles and replies, "Yeah, that's true." And they both laugh. "Look, Adrien is a great guy too, you wouldn't like him if he wasn't. I wonder if he knows what his own heart wants, maybe he's confused or a little scared even if he doesn't show it. That day at the ice rink when he was with Kagami, he was always looking over at you, not her. I'd bet my last euro he's in love with you and either doesn't know it or won't admit it, not even to himself."

"Maybe," Marinette considers the situation. "He always has to smile and look happy whether he is or not, he's learned to do that as a model. Always has to live up to the image and repress his personal feelings."

Luka tells her. "It's not like we have to make our life choices right now. Let's see what happens, and if it doesn't work out with him then I'll still be available." He teases her, "maybe."

Marinette laughs. "Oh, love 'em and leave 'em, huh?"

Luka smiles. "Plenty of fish in the sea, sweetie."

Marinette retorts, "That works both ways, wise guy."

Luka answers back, "I think you've already hooked Adrien, he just doesn't know it yet."

Marinette smiles. "We'll see. Thanks for being such a good friend, Luka. I don't know what I would've done without you to help me get through this." She kisses him on the cheek.

Luka kisses her on her forehead. "My pleasure. Give it some time, and let things play out a little. There's no rush. And anytime you want to talk, I'm there for you."

"Okay. I'd still like to come and see you sometimes. You have a way of calming my nerves."

"Anytime is fine with me."

And that's where they left it. for now anyway.


	8. Chapter 8

The Meeting

A few days later Ladybug and Chat Noir meet to discuss the current ideas they've got so far, with their kwamis.

Chat Noir starts the discussion off with this: "I think we could delegate the website and chat room to Max, if he's willing to do it. It's gotta be super secure, we can't have anybody hacking into it, but at the same time it has to look uninteresting so as not to attract attention."

Marinette agrees, "That's a good idea, let's roll with that. We can have a message board where someone can broadcast a message to everyone or a private message to one person. And we can have group discussions as desired about anything related to what we do, post questions or new ideas or just to hang out with each other online."

Chat turns to Tikki and Plagg, "is there any possible way to make the Miraculous box invisible, or change it's shape and appearance so that if someone discovers who Ladybug is, they can't steal the box? Trixx is good at illusion, right? Does any other kwami have that kind of power or magic?"

Tikki and Plagg look at each other, and Tikki says, "I don't know if she ever tried to do that before."

Chat asks, "is it permissible to try to do new things like that?"

Tikki considers and says, "I don't know of any rule against it. But I don't know if it would work either."

Chat says, "then we need to try some new stuff, a little different but still within the rules and experiment."

Chat turns to Ladybug. "Plagg and I were talking the other day about numbers. In other words more Miraculous holders zipping around to confuse the enemy so to speak. There's the added risk of somebody being seen transforming though. And another thing, part-time holders should be spending more time with their kwami, getting more familiar with what they can and can't do. The battlefield is no place to learn, but it means less security for everybody."

Ladybug considers and says, "I gotta think about that one. It does make sense to make sure a Miraculous holder knows what he or she is doing, otherwise they could become a victim."

"And they might also lose their Miraculous to Hawkmoth too." This from Chat. "That wouldn't be good. The more prepared they are, the better. Remember how we were the first few times?"

He continues, "Speaking of Hawkmoth, I was thinking of asking Alya to map out as much as possible where the akumatized people were when it happened. Maybe we can get a line on where Hawkmoth's lair is."

"And another thing," he continues, "I think we need to go on television and warn people about the dangers of negative thinking. That's what Hawkmoth preys on: fear, anger, hate, resentment, jealousy, envy, negative things like that. Which is only human, we're all going to feel that way sometimes. But if you see a black butterfly heading your way, you need to change your thinking to be more positive. Think of your loved ones, kittens and puppies, anything that is positive. Don't be a victim. And don't be an asshole either." He looks at Ladybug. "Paraphrasing of course."

She smiles. "That's good stuff, Chat." She leans in closer and says, "and thanks for not pressuring me on a personal level. It may be a while before I'm ready to commit to anyone because I'm so mixed up with what happened to Master Fu and my part in it. And all the stuff I need to do this job right. I'm scared Chat, of messing up and people get hurt because of it."

Chat tries to comfort her, saying, "I'm on your side, always will be. All any of us can do is to give our best, and your best is pretty darn good. And I don't see any need to be in a rush over who you want to be with, and I care enough about you to want what's best for you more than me."

Ladybug kisses him on the cheek and says, "I really appreciate that. You know, I probably don't deserve to have you."

"Probably you're right." She punches him in the arm, playfully.

"Ow, that hurt, LB."

"Serves you right." The meeting breaks up, and they go home.


	9. Chapter 9

A week later, Ladybug and Chat meet again, and he brought a couple of pillows. Progress has been made and changes are in the offing, but Ladybug has not yet revealed herself to Chat or anyone else. Perhaps fearing another big mistake, she is treading cautiously.

She asks him about the pillows, "are you expecting to get some sleep here?"

"No, he says, " I'll tell you about the pillows later."

Chat then tells her that Hawkmoth is probably upping his game, and they need to do the same. "You can't be overly cautious, LB. I think we need to use as many of our tools and talents as we can to counter whatever he's going to spring on us next. Think about it, that's all I'm saying."

"I feel so overwhelmed right now, like there's not enough time or energy to get done what I need to do," she replies.

"You don't have to do it alone, Bugaboo. Talk to Rena, Carapace, Ryoko, Viperion, whoever you feel can help you, even if it's just to relieve a little tension. I think you should give the current temporary holders more time with their Kwamis so they can get used to each other. Yes, there's an increased risk, but it gives us a better shot at success in my opinion. And, you should be thinking about who you might want to give a Miraculous to and join the team. Think about it, talk it over with whoever you want to."

"You won't mind?"

"Not at all, this isn't about anyone's ego or self-esteem, this is about defeating Hawkmoth and keeping Paris and it's citizens as safe as we can. That's why I think we should be aware of all our abilities and maybe use them to the best advantage. We need to talk to all of the kwamis, what can they do and what are they good at and what can they do a little differently that helps us win."

"Okay," she says, but not with much confidence.

And he notices. "Look LB, the past is over and we can't change it. We have a job to do here, and it ain't going to be easy so we better put our big girl spots on and get on with it." Then he grabs one of the pillows and playfully hits her with it.

She grins and says, "oh, so that's how it is. I'll make you rue the day you thought of doing that." And she grabs the other pillow and the pillow fight is on.

After a few minutes of laughter and mayhem, they sit down and rest.

She smiles. "Alright, now that you've got me in fighting mode, I guess it's time to kick butt. I like your ideas, so let's get to work." And with that, they start to make some plans.

After Ladybug arrives home and de-transforms, she talks with Tikki again. "I am having second thoughts about revealing my secret identity to Chat/Adrien. He needs to know if I am incapacitated for whatever reason and be ready with a Plan B if it becomes necessary. Plus, it's one less thing to concern myself with any longer; I'll need to lean on him a lot going forward and we don't need to make it any more complicated than it has to be."

Tikki replies, "most of the time Ladybug and Chat Noir will learn each other's identities one way or another, sooner or later. The idea was to preclude releasing that information too soon, because that might bring undue pressure or distractions on either of you." She pauses, then continues, "but I think that time has passed, and because of the present circumstances you probably need to clear your mind of any worries and trust your partner. Keeping secrets can be damaging sometimes."

Marinette says, "I'll still think we need to keep the romance on the back burner until we get through the recent changes now that Master Fu is gone. This way I can talk to him without trying to hide anything."

"Okay by me," smiles Tikki. "When do you think you might tell him?"

"Tomorrow, I guess," answers Marinette. "Maybe I'll swing by his house and surprise him."

"More like the shock of his life," says Tikki. "That boy is denser than steel when it comes to girls. I can't wait to see the look on his face when he discovers the girl of his dreams is also the one he rejected." They laugh together.

The next evening after dark, Adrien is doing his homework when he hears a tapping at his window. He looks over to see Ladybug, with an expectant look on her face. So, he gets up immediately and opens the window and in she comes.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" He asks.

"Well, I've been thinking it might be better if you knew who I was under the mask, for several reasons. We're going to be working closely together for some time on the Guardianship duties and fighting Hawkmoth, and I'm going to need your help in that and some other things. And I don't want to have to constantly be wary of what I say all the time."

She walks up to be close to him and says, "I trust you implicitly, and you need to be certain of that and there's no better way to prove it than this. It's a business decision, but also a personal one, but we can't allow that to interfere with what we have to do, right?"

"Yeah, no doubt about that." He looks at her and asks, "okay, who are you?"

"She smiles at him and answers, "it isn't going to be that easy. I want to mess with you first, payback for the pillow fight. Tell you what, I'll give you a hint and let's see how long it takes you to figure it out."

Adrien smiles and says, "okay hit me with the hint."

Ladybug looks at him and says, "I've always got your back."

He looks at her and complains, "what kind of hint is that, you've always got my back, and I've got yours."

She looks him dead in the eyes and says, "in school."

She grins while she watches the wheels turning in his head and finally says, "I sit right behind you every day in class, you dork." Finally, she sees the light go on, and he's stunned. "Marinette?"

"Yup," and she de-transforms in front of him. "Took you long enough."

"Well, I am a dork you know, and an idiot too." They laugh and embrace. "True, she says, but you're my dork and don't you forget it."

"Not a chance m'lady. I assume we'll have to keep this under wraps, right? As Adrien and Marinette? If Hawkmoth learns the identity of one of us, we don't need him to know who we are in love with, right?"

"Yeah, I think that's right." She smiles at him again. "As far as the world is concerned, we're 'just friends'."

"Oh God. I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I?"

"We'll see."

FINI

Author's notes: I'm kind of waiting to see what happens in the Chat Blanc and Felix episodes that could change the story dynamic. Which I think is going to happen if the trailers are any indication. In Miracle Queen, Hawkmoth thinks he has fixed the Peacock Miraculous, maybe we'll see what that means. Also, according to a preview, it looks like Chat and Ladybug are going to find out about his mother's condition. So, there's going to be all sorts of storylines coming our way.

I went back and forth about revealing Ladybug's identity. In my view, Ladybug's confidence was somewhat diminished by her mistake in leading Hawkmoth to Master Fu. So, she's going to need all the support she can get, mostly from the one person she has always counted on. Up until Chat Blanc anyway, I haven't seen it yet. I think it's doubtful that their bond will be seriously disrupted though.

I might resurrect this story and enlarge on it after the last two episodes of season three are aired. Or maybe start a new one. Or both, what the hell.


End file.
